Wednesday, October 27, 2010

NFL Week 7 Roundup

Jacksonville

20

Kansas City

42

This game showed just how good the Chiefs’ ground game really is. The tandem of Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles, who contributed 196 of the Chiefs’ 236 rushing yards, is one of the best in the league. Dwayne Bowe is starting to make some big catches now too. He made one of the best touchdown receptions we have seen all season in this one as he barely got both feet down while falling to the ground. There are many reasons to believe in this Chiefs team.

Cincinnati

32

Atlanta

39

Roddy White is absolutely amazing. He is definitely an MVP candidate with the season he is having and this game just backed up that statement. Double-digit receptions and over 200 yards, he is insane. We can’t forget Michael Turner’s 121 yards and 2 TD’s either. Carson Palmer had his best game of the season and kept it close. Three Bengals’ receivers had 88 yards or more and each of them had a touchdown. If the Bengals can get things together on defense, they can be a very scary team.

Washington

17

Chicago

14

Jay Cutler found his new favorite target this week. Unfortunately for him, this was the only time he will see him this season. DeAngelo Hall tied an NFL record with 4 interceptions in this game, returning one for a touchdown. I have never been a believer in Cutler and did not think he was even close to the value of what he was traded for. He’s probably the most inconsistent quarterback in the league right now. This game was lost by whichever quarterback played worse, and clearly that was Cutler, although Donovan McNabb wasn’t any bit impressive either. Ryan Torain had another impressive game, although he fumbled the ball twice, one of which was lost deep into Chicago territory when Washington was trying to put the game away. Both of these teams are 4-3 now and both have seen better days than this.

Philadelphia

19

Tennessee

37

Only one name needs to be mentioned to describe this game, Kenny Britt. Britt did not start after getting in a bar fight last weekend, and somehow managed to receive for 225 yards and 3 touchdowns. For a few weeks now, it seemed that Britt and quarterback Vince Young were meshing very well together, but with Young out for this game, who knew how Kerry Collins would spread the ball. Apparently he likes Britt better than Young. The Titans scored 27 points in the 4th quarter to give them the big comeback victory. The Titans have a very threatening offense and defense this season. I would not be surprised if they are in the mix to win the AFC South at the end of this season.

Pittsburgh

23

Miami

22

ESPN.com Play-By-Play: “(Shotgun) B.Roethlisberger up the middle for 2 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Miami challenged the touchback ruling, and the play was REVERSED. (Shotgun) B.Roethlisberger up the middle to MIA 1 for 1 yard (C.Clemons). FUMBLES (C.Clemons), declared dead at MIA 1. 2nd part of review was not able to determine who recovered the ball.” This ruling left Pittsburgh with the ball on the Dolphin’s 1-yard line and led to their game winning field goal. The Steelers are a very good team, but apparently they can be very lucky as well. Big Ben had another big game, but his 3 fumbles (1 lost) show that he needs to be more secure with the ball, especially since his fumble almost cost them the game. Either way, the Steelers are a force to be reckoned with right now.

Cleveland

30

New Orleans

17

Surprise? I think not. Cleveland has now managed to beat the reigning Super Bowl champions each of the last three seasons (Steelers in ’09, Giants in ’08). Cleveland’s defense has been very impressive this season, but has no help from the offense. Their most impressive offensive stat in this game is punter Reggie Hodges’ 1 carry for 68 yards. Their 4 interceptions, 2 for scores, are what won this game for them. Drew Brees was shockingly ineffective as his team failed yet again to put up points. They have only scored 30 or more points once this season, a feat that they accomplished 5 times at this point last season. This is not the same team that won the Super Bowl.

St. Louis

17

Tampa Bay

18

Josh Freeman has become a very clutch quarterback this season. Freeman led the Bucs to a game-winning touchdown with 10 ticks left in the game. 3 of the Bucs’ 4 wins this season have been by 3 points or less. Otherwise, this game was relatively boring. The majority of the scoring occurred in the 2nd quarter, with no more than 6 points scored in any other quarter. This Tampa Bay team is pretty decent, but definitely not the “best team in the league” like head coach Raheem Morris claims they are.

San Francisco

20

Carolina

23

I no longer consider the 49ers the best 1-5 team ever, and not just because they are 1-6 now. This team went from potential favorites in the NFC West, to a joke. The Panthers have struggled to do anything offensively this entire season, and yet Matt Moore was able to get his first 300-yard game on Sunday. DeAngelo Williams continues to be a huge disappointment this season, only rushing for 44 yards on 19 carries. I’m wondering if Jonathan Stewart will be taking over as starter soon.

Buffalo

34

Baltimore

37

The most undeserved win this weekend. I am really questioning Baltimore Head Coach, John Harbaugh’s plan for this game. Buffalo is the worst defense against the run in the league, and the Ravens have two very good halfbacks, especially Ray Rice. The Ravens only carried the ball 29 times and passed it 31 times. I feel that this is the only reason that this game was close. Even the Patriots, who are always a pass first team, ran 38 times on the Bills. We can’t forget Ryan Fitzpatrick’s game though. He threw for close to 400 yards and 4 TDs, 3 to Lee Evans. He is now the second highest rated quarterback in the NFL (102.0). Although they are 0-6, Fitzpatrick will lead the Bills to that first win sometime soon.

Arizona

10

Seattle

22

In such a weak division, I have felt all season long that the Seahawks would not only be able to make the playoffs, but win the division as well. Mike Williams had another very good game. He has really started to make himself look like the player he was once meant to be. Marshawn Lynch is starting to get more accustomed to this offense and is beginning to produce more. The Cardinals are really missing Kurt Warner right now, as they have not found an answer at quarterback yet. I wonder if Matt Leinart would have been a better starter for these guys than Anderson or Hall has been.

Oakland

59

Denver

14

Wow. Just wow. Is the story how good Darren McFadden is or how bad the Broncos are? Kyle Orton’s completion percentage was under 50% for the second straight week, and the running game never got going while playing from behind the entire game. Darren McFadden is having an outstanding year. He’s been one of the best halfbacks in the NFL this season and is receiving extremely well out of the backfield. The Raiders are slowly starting to look like a team that can win again.

New England

23

San Diego

20

I am still in shock that this game was so close. Philip Rivers found a way to keep the Chargers in this one and led them to the chance for a game tying field goal in the closing seconds, only to have replacement kicker Kris Brown hit the right post from 50 yards. The Patriots just won’t go away and are not sitting back and letting the Jets run away with the division. This one is going to be tight all season. The Chargers, on the other hand, have fallen well behind the Chiefs and even behind the Raiders. We are probably going to see a flip in the standings from last year in the AFC West.

Minnesota

24

Green Bay

28

We must always remember remember, Brett Favre is Brett Favre. The old man managed to throw 3 picks in this game, including one returned for 6. The Packers played like they wanted this game more, and definitely deserved it. Aaron Rodgers started off a little shaky but came back strong to help the Packers take the lead for good in the 4th quarter. I have no doubt that the Packers will end up winning the NFC North because the Bears are not as good as their record and the Vikings have fallen too far behind under an injured Brett Favre’s leadership.

NY Giants

41

Dallas

35

It’s pretty safe to say that the Cowboys’ season is done. Not only are they 1-5, Tony Romo is now out for 6-8 weeks with a broken collarbone. I know he threw 4 touchdowns and I know the Giants won the game, but Eli Manning is starting to remind me of Brett Favre. He makes some pretty bad decisions and bad throws, and sometimes seems like he has no idea what the situation is. Feel free to disagree, but I feel like having the leagues leading rusher in Ahmad Bradshaw and 3 good receivers should make him look better than he does. Hakeem Nicks caught another 2 touchdown passes, but he also caused another interception for Manning when a pass hit off his chest and was picked out of the air by Dallas. I may be wrong but I am pretty sure that Manning now has about 4 picks off drops by Nicks. Can’t really question his ability when he already has 8 touchdowns though.

About Me

HUGE Jets fan, but also a huge sports fan. Currently a student at SUNY New Paltz majoring in Journalism with a concentration in Public Relations. Also a sports writer/intern for the Rockland County Times.
Please follow me on Twitter @DSpiegs311